Kill Me First

Rating:
Summary: Rated triple T: Thin, Trite, and Totally not very good
Review: Congratulations to Ms. Morgenroth for completing the novelization of that script USA network rejected. It looks exactly like the treatment I saw er, wait - was that the treatment I read? If so nice binding job. A little over the top. Like those kids in junior high that turned in their papers with the $4 report covers but hey, whatever it takes. Anyway, I expect Golan & Globus will be in touch and Mr. Norris is rumored to be interested. USA had no idea what they were rejecting obviously. I like the Kill Me First suggestion as a title - check it out.

Rating:
Summary: Unusual, powerful, somewhat flawed
Review: I agreed with many of the other reviewers, both positive and negative. This is an unusual book, and it is hard to tell if some of its characteristics are flaws or good aspects, such as the author's tendency to provide almost no description of places or characters.
In general, it is powerful and in many ways quite well written.
I do agree that there are some plausibility problems. The worst involve the CIA. The CIA is forbidden by law to operate in the United States. Now, obviously there are some gray areas here. (I was always annoyed when I went to scientific conferences and saw people who I knew worked for the CIA with badges that would say, "John Smith, Department of Defense". I thought they shoulnl'dt misrepresent themselves this way. On the other hand, its not hard to figure out who they are.) But no agent shows his CIA credentials to the local cops and expects to get anything. The local cops know the law. They're likely to call up the FBI and report them. Similarly, nobody with a federal ID goes to CIA headquarters and is allowed to roam the halls causually looking for someone. I've been to CIA headquarters, in the company of federal employees, some with very high security clearances, and we were very carefully escorted to where we had to go. Aside from being generally paranoid, the CIA is very suspicious of other government agencies--I've been in meetings with CIA and NSA people, and they fight like cats and dogs.

Rating:
Summary: At last - a heroine my own age!
Review: I finished this book almost at one sitting, and when I asked myself why I liked it, the first reason (perhaps not unexpectedly)was because Sarah is my age, still attractive and sexy (I try!) and reacts exactly as I hope I would should such an unlikely situation ever occur. So many of today's fiction heroines are feisty twenty somethings, but some of us out there older than that still have lives. It was interesting that the author's photo shows quite a young woman, and since this is her first novel, I wonder whether she had a role model in mind when she wrote this, or a hope for her own future. The plot is a little farfetched - it seems unlikely that even with the degree of ineptitude sometimes demonstrated by law enforcement agencies that someone with Merec's history would not have been apprehended by now. And also, given the way he treats his team, that anyone would want to join him. I agree with some reviewers that it has some elements of writing for a screenplay, but I didn't read it that way. More that it was fast paced, with good characterisation and a real need to turn the page.

Rating:
Summary: Unusual, powerful, somewhat flawed
Review: I have to admit, I wasn't really expecting much from this book when I purchased it among others in a book store on a visit to Australia. Having recently read it, I was compelled to find out more about the author to see if there were any more books by her. Unfortunately, as of this writing there are none. The book itself grabs you by the throat with it's extreme accounts of numerous heinous acts by the main antagonist, Mercer. He is portrayed as an intelligent, cunning and quite disturbed man. When he runs across the other lead character, Sarah, he is caught offguard. She is not what he expected and the events that follow forever change him. The FBI agent advising the local police after one of the incidents in the story, Agent Tresler, leads a breathtaking chase after Mercer. Tresler gets well acquainted with Mercer and we discover that Tresler is quite good at what he does but the bureau was not his first aspiration. You will soon find out why he is able to fathom Mercer's actions and thoughts so accurately. He even predicts some of the events but without any hard evidence to back up his hunches, he doesn't get much backup. Mercer is unpredictable to a fault, but as the story unfolds you begin to understand him in subtle ways. The ending is a bit of a stunner, but you may find yourself cheering at the results or deeply disappointed, either way you will have difficulty putting this down once you start. I would emphasive, however, that this is not for the faint of heart as the unflinching portrayal of the events that transpire are quite jarring.

Rating:
Summary: An incredible book...for those who can appreciate it.
Review: I stayed up until four in the morning to finish Kill Me First. Once I was hooked, I couldn't put it down.

But what I found even more rewarding than the non-stop action, was the fact that this book delivered on a deeper level. Kate Morgenroth's debut novel delves into human nature, and forces us to look both at ourselves and the society we have created. Although she paints a sometimes bleak picture of the violence which seems so central to our culture and the media which glorifies it, at the same time Morgenroth gives us hope in the form of the "heroine" Sarah Shepard.

While the story is a true page turner, the real power of this book lies just below the surface, in the messages Morgenroth whispers to us between the lines.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable characters
Review: Shall I say, "the next Tom Clancy" only better looking in a dress. This was one of the most complex stories that I have read in a while. The chilling coldness of Merec -the villian- reminds me of the killer in Seven, he totally believes what he is doing benifits mankind. I am looking forward to her next book.

Rating:
Summary: WARNING: You need to think to appreciate this book
Review: This is a thriller that makes you think. This book takes a cynical look at human nature. It is not your typical thriller, as the book is without a "true hero". As in life, there are no clear cut heroes or villains, and this book depicts the fine line between right and wrong which governs our actions and keeps us in check -or not.

Rating:
Summary: Haunting Philosophical Investigation
Review: Ugh! What a trite book! It was literally like reading a script. Evidently Morgenroth had intended to write a novel that would receive offers from every film producer in Hollywood. Yes, there are some exciting and intense moments when Merec is shown just how evil he could be, but not enough to make it exciting or likeable. There isn't a spark of originality in the plot. There's no literary merit. None.

May I suggest a dark novel that is thought provoking and intense? Try Criminals by Margot Livesey. I highly advice you to skip this one -- unless you want to read a script disguised as a novel.